


dogs, and frogs, and bossy young girls

by ofstarsserene



Category: Miss Scarlet and the Duke (TV 2020)
Genre: Eliza and William's first meeting, F/M, young Eliza is even bossier and young William is even more shocked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstarsserene/pseuds/ofstarsserene
Summary: When Mr. Scarlet asks young William to visit, the last thing William expects is a wild chase, a ruined suit, and a frog with a peculiar name – but with Eliza Scarlet you must always expect the unexpected.
Relationships: Eliza Scarlet/William "Duke" Wellington
Comments: 11
Kudos: 81





	dogs, and frogs, and bossy young girls

The weather was chilly that day, and William shivered, making his way down the street. Neat houses, identical in their brick glory, lined up to his left. William glanced at the worn piece of paper he was clutching in his hand – yes, that was definitely the street he needed. But the door number? Was it one or was it seven? Mr. Scarlet must have been in a hurry when he’d left that note, and his handwriting wasn’t easily readable even on the best of occasions, and now William was stuck in the middle of the road, trying to decide whether the best course of action was to simply knock on both doors and see which was the right one.

His plan was interrupted by loud barking. It took William a moment to notice a dog that was apparently chasing something that William couldn’t make out in the grass. And this dog was coming straight at him. William barely got out of its way when the door to one of the houses opened with a bang, and a young girl ran out, her light dress definitely unfit for such cold weather.

“Skip!” the girl cried out ( _so, that dog was a family pet_ , William thought). “Come back, Skip!”

William could only stare at her, with her disheveled hair and her determined attitude, as she noticed him and purposefully strode towards him, her eyes locked on his. She was intimidating. William did not like that.

“Well, don’t just stand there, help me catch it, quick!”

The girl ran along, and William, dumbfounded as he was, still followed this stranger, because the situation was too comical to make sense, and William was curious to see whether this young miss would eventually remember her manners.

Catching a dog proved to be harder than William originally thought – or maybe it was just this particular dog, who seemed to be as wild and unruly as its owner. _How did such a tiny creature have so much chaotic energy in it?_ By the time William finally had the dog wriggling in his arms, he was sweaty and out of breath – well, that was certainly a terrible impression to make on Mr. Scarlet’s family. But William tried to subdue his anger. Right now his only concern was to get rid both of this animal and of the young lady it belonged to. The girl, however, didn’t seem pleased once she caught up with him.

“Not the dog, you silly, the frog! We can’t let it escape,” she ran further down the street, and as William was frozen on the spot, shocked as never before, she turned around and beckoned to him, shouting, “Hurry!”

 _The frog? What on earth was this girl blabbering about?_ William was starting to get the impression that she was either deranged or extremely spoiled. He ran after her anyway, hoping that this idiotic chase would soon be over. He slipped and fell down twice before getting his hands on a tiny creature covered in dirt and leaves. It was indeed a frog, and if this was the kind of pets that girl was fond of, William was feeling sorry for her parents.

“Be careful. Miss Dawkins doesn’t like to be handled in a rough way.”

William was more than happy to return the slimy thing to its rightful owner.

“You named a frog ‘Miss Dawkins’?”, he asked in disbelief.

“All creatures must have names. And that’s as good a name as it gets.”

 _She could’ve at least said ‘thank you’_ , William wondered, trying to clean his suit which was now ruined with mud. That horrible girl had no manners whatsoever.

“Oh, William! I see you have already met my daughter.”

Hearing Mr. Scarlet’s cheerful voice amidst this ruckus was a surprise. William breathed out a sigh of relief. At last, someone would put an end to this silliness. Realization came to William seconds later. _Did he just say ‘daughter’?_ William glanced at the young girl who had bossed him around so flawlessly only moments ago. She was staring back at him.

“So this is the boy that you talked about, father?”

 _The boy_. The nerve that girl had – William was almost eighteen, he was certainly no boy! The situation somehow became even more surreal, as William looked at his mentor now holding a jar with a frog which was trying its best to escape once again.

“Eliza, what did I tell you on the subject of talking about people as if they are not present?” Mr. Scarlet’s intention was clearly to scold, but William didn’t fail to notice a hint of suppressed laughter in his voice.

“…That this is not something a lady should do,” the girl wiped her fingers on her skirt and tried to comb her hair into a semblance of a hairdo. “Eliza Scarlet. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“William Wellington,” He shook the hand she offered, because it was a proper thing to do, and at least _he_ knew how to behave. “The pleasure is mine, Miss Scarlet.”

Eliza, this newfound and unexpected acquaintance of his, smiled at him, and her eyes twinkled with amusement. Her hand was warm in his, and William, apprehensive as he was, couldn’t help a small smile appearing on his face as well.

“I’m sorry about the frog and about your suit,” Eliza put a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her attitude suddenly more reserved. “I hope we can still be friends.”

…Yes, perhaps they could try to become friends, William thought, as Eliza smiled at him once more.

(A year later he kissed her, and she slapped him so hard his cheek hurt for hours, and he knew for a fact that his first impression of Eliza – a mischievous creature, that one – had been probably correct.)


End file.
